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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021-02-04 Roads TOWN OF 1630 WATERTOWN Office of the Town Manager r Y i Administration Building - - 149 Main Street Watertown,MA 02472 Phone:617-972-6465 Michael J. Driscoll www.watertown-ma.gov Town Manager C&townmgrwatertown-ma.gov To: Honorable Town Council From: Michael J. Driscoll, Town Manager Date: February 4, 2021 RE: Agenda Item-Proposed Loan Order i On March 10 2020 the Honorable Town Council adopted twenty-eight 28 conceptual recommendations on the Fiscal Year 2021-2025 CIP. Conceptual recommendation#23 reads in part as follows: • Refer to the Public Works Committee,for policy guidance,plans for the FY21 $2,500,000 loan order(FY21 CIP Lines 292 & 298)for local road construction projects in the summer of 2021. On October 27, 2020,the Honorable Town Council approved the list of streets to be included in the Fiscal Year 2021 Road Program (see attached excerpt from the October 27, 2020 Town Council Minutes and Committee on Public Works Report). Therefore, given all of the above, I respectfully request the attached Proposed Loan Order of$2,500,000 be placed on the February 9, 2021 Town Council Agenda as a First Reading. Thank you for your consideration in' this matter. cc: Gregory M. St. Louis, Superintendent of Public Works Matthew Shuman,Town Engineer Steven Magoon,Director of Community Development and Planning/Assistant Town Manager Thomas J. Tracy,Town Auditor/Assistant Town Manager for Finance Katherine Morrison,Assistant Treasurer/Collector &A H I N C K L E Y 28 State Street A L L E N Boston, MA 02109-1775 p:617-345-9000 f:617-345-9020 hinckleyallen.com Jay Gonzalez (617)378-4256 jgonzalez@hinckleyallen.com February 3,2021 Michael Driscoll Town Manager Administration Building 149 Main Street Watertown, Massachusetts 02472 RE: Draft Loan Order—Street and Sidewalk Bonds Dear Michael: As requested, I suggest the following form of loan order to approve the borrowing of funds to pay costs of street and sidewalk improvements: ORDERED: That the sum of$2,500,000 is appropriated to pay costs of constructing, reconstructing,paving,repairing or otherwise improving streets and sidewalks, including if necessary, convenient or desirable improving underground ducts and conduits and paying all other costs incidental and related to such street and sidewalk work;that to meet this appropriation,the Treasurer,with the approval of the Town Manager, is authorized to borrow said amount under and pursuant to M.G.L. c.44, §7(1), or pursuant to any other enabling authority, and to issue bonds or notes of the Town therefor; and that any premium received upon the sale of any bonds or notes approved by this order, less any such premium applied to the payment of the costs of issuance of such bonds or notes, may be applied to the payment of costs approved by this order in accordance with M.G.L. c.44, §20,thereby reducing the amount authorized to be borrowed to pay such costs by a like amount. The order must be published at least five days prior to the holding of a public hearing with respect to the order and its final passage and requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all members of the Town Council, as in the case of any other loan order for bonds. Please call me if there are any questions about the suggested proceedings. Sincerely, Jay Gonzalez ►ALBANY ► BOSTON ► CHICAGO ► HARTFORD ► MANCHESTER ► NEW YORK ► PROVIDENCE 60687302 vl EXCERPT FROM OCTOBER 27, 2020 TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES Committee on Public Works Report Regarding the FY 2021 Local Road Construction Program— Vincent J. Piccirilli, Chair AGENDA ITEM: That the Town Council Approve Proceeding with the 2021 Road Program as Presented Councilor Piccirilli read the Committee Report. He then moved to accept the report; Councilor Woodland seconded the motion. Councilor Feltner pointed out that she attended the meeting and should be added to the list of attendees. Councilor Palomba stated the listing of the 2021 Road Recreation Program should be corrected to read 2021 Road Reconstruction Program. Councilor Piccirilli moved to amend his motion to indicate Councilor Feltner attended the meeting and to correct the subtitle heading; Councilor Woodland seconded the amended motion. j The motion was adopted unanimously on a roll call vote. Councilor Piccirilli moved to approve proceeding with the 2021 Road Program as presented; Councilor Woodland seconded the motion. The motion was adopted unanimously on a roll call vote. i Watertown Town Council Committee on Public Works Councilor Piccirilli,Chair, Councilor Donato,Vice Chair,Councilor Palomba,Secretary Committee Report September 24, 2020, 7:00 PM In attendance were: Councilor Piccirilli, Chair; Councilor Donato, Vice Chair, Councilor Palomba, District A Councilor Angie Kounelis, District B Councilor Lisa Feltner, Matt Shuman, Engineer, Department of Public Works, Kevin Duffy, Engineer, Department of Public Works, Laura Wiener, Transportation Planner, Department of Community Development and Planning, Members of the Bike/Ped Committee, Andy Campagna and Maria Saiz, Shelia Fay, and Hannah Rakoff. Council Piccirilli noted that the meeting is on Zoom and can be accessed via the agenda on the Town's website, is being recorded live by WCATV, and that residents can submit questions to analomba(a,watertown-ma.Qov. The purpose of the meeting was to review and make recommendations on the FY21 Local Road Construction Program. Councilor Piccirilli introduced Matt Shuman who walked the Committee through his PowerPoint presentation—2021 Road Program—September 24,2020. The complete report is attached to these minutes. Key points from the presentation included the following: Due to receiving bids that the Department of Public Works (DPW) felt were too high for the selected roads in 2019, they reissued bids for road repairs approved by the Town Council in 2019 and those approved by the Town Council in 2020. Fourteen roads were including in the two bids, 7 from the December 2019 list and 7 from the 2020 list. The bids went out in December 2019 and were awarded to Onyx Corporation. Onyx Corporation has had two crews working in Watertown since April 2020. Seven streets—five from 2019 (Avon Road, Chandler Street, Burnham Street, Bridgham Avenue, and Bartlett Street—including Everett Avenue) and 2 streets from 2020 (Piermont Street and Tappen Avenue) are 95-99% completed with minor work remaining such as line striping and preparing and seeding plant strips. The remaining seven streets are in various stages of the full reconstruction process. They include 2 streets from 2019—Bellevue Road (Channing Road to Common Street) and Nichols Avenue (Dexter Avenue to Boylston Street) and 5 streets from 2020—Kimball Road, Downey Street, Wheeler Lane, Louise Street and Frank Street. For a list of where each street is in the process, please refer to the attached document. It was noted that these roads will not be completed by the end of this construction season(April—November 2020) and will need to be complete during the April—November 2021 season. There has been significant progress on the Town's Complete Streets/Green Streets project. Twelve storm water tree trenches have been installed on various streets, steps have been taken to preserve,protect and increase our tree canopy, enhance planting strips, and reduce impervious areas by extending curbs. All work is done meeting ADA compliance. The discussion of pavement management was extensive. The Committee and those attending learned about methods to prolong the life of certain roads, about coordinating repairs with utility work, about incorporating a"Complete Streets" approach to improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and about seeking alternative funding for large scale-projects. In addition, Mr. Shuman outlined the field survey of our roads that uses a pavement condition index that rates a road from 0 to 100. The last index was prepared in 2016 but the planned 2020 index is behind schedule. Pavement management techniques used by DPW were presented. They consist in order of less intervention to most intervention—crack sealing, full depth patches, limited mill and over lay repairs to complete road reconstruction or reclamation. The final technique involves the installation of granite curbing, concrete sidewalks, driveway aprons and handicap ramps. Mr. Shuman also discussed the unfortunate delays on the reconstruction of Waverley Avenue. The Town Council had allocated an additional $1.5 million for a Long Street and Collector Program in Fiscal Year 2019 and Waverley Avenue was selected for the program. While some preliminary work has been done, the project will need to be carried over into the FY21 construction season. Before presenting the central purpose the meeting—the recommended 2021-road program - it was note that this year the consultant performing the Pavement Management Metric will also conduct a survey of our sidewalks. Please note a second attachment lists the streets that received pavement maintenance through short distances via the mill and overlay technique and side walk repairs. 2021 Road Reconstruction Program Based on the 2012 and 2016 Pavement Management Inventories, windshield surveys, maintenance records, proposed and completed capital projects, and resident input, DWP prioritized a list of streets considering the state of disrepair, geographic equity, and project readiness. Thus, the streets recommended for reconstruction are: Alden Road, Sheldon Road, Hazel Street(Quimby Street to Dexter Avenue), Gertrude Street, Goldie Street,Elmwood Avenue, and Grandview Avenue (Chapman Street to Copeland Streets). Following Mr. Shuman's presentation there were a number of questions from Councilors and residents. Councilor Donato relayed a concern from residents about narrowing the roads such that it was difficult for emergency vehicles to travel on the roads. It was noted that streets are to be a minimum of 24 feet— 10-foot travel lane and 7 feet on each side for parking and that all road reconstructions are reviewed by fire and police. It was also noted that the goal is to have sidewalks on both sides of the street, but this is not always possible given the 24-foot minimum. Councilor Feltner had a series of questions based on concerns raised by the residents in District B, which she represents. She queried about the status of the repairs on Dexter, Mt. Auburn, and School Streets that were to be financed by Athenahealth and how the planned improvements on Walnut Street by the new owners of the Doble site might intersect with present and future work by DPW. She advocated that Chester Street, which had water work completed in 2013 and gas repairs in 2015, be on the list of reconstruction in future years. In addition, she suggested DPW look at Morse Street between Galen and Watertown Streets, as well as Highland as possible candidates for the Long Streets and Collector Program. She put forth the possibility that Irving Street is a candidate for the 300—500 feet section eligibly for mill and overlay service. Councilor Feltner, seconded by Councilor Palomba, were disappointed that the asphalt berm that was removed or destroyed on Russell Street, and resulted in the deterioration of the planting strip, could not be repaired. Mr. Shuman replied that patching asphalt berm was a town-wide problem and not effective if done by hand. It would require special machinery to replace the berm and that was not considered a priority. DPW however does repair and reseed deteriorating plant strips caused by missing berm and places "no parking signs" in areas where there is no berm to prevent cars from parking on the planting strip. Responding to Councilor Feltner's question about sidewalk repairs, Mr. Shuman said there has been$800,000 of sidewalk repairs (see the second attachment) and that, as mentioned earlier, there will be a sidewalk condition map created by the consultant creating the road audit that would rate sidewalks "good—fair—poor". This information will be used in determining what walks to replace or repair in FY 2021. Councilor Felter expressed her appreciation for the Department's installation of the 12 stormwater tree trenches at various road reconstruction sits. She also asked DPW to track new plant strips so information could be added to our overall areas of available green space. Finally, Councilor Feltner reported on a new product"Aquaphalt"that has the potential of keeping potholes secure during and after winter. More information can be found at httD://www.acivai)halt.com. Andy Campagna, a member of the Bike/Ped Committee, asked how Complete Streets are designated and why the Complete Streets working group, composed of police, fire, DPW, DCDP and Bike/Ped has not met for quite some time. He was concerned that their input was not being considered when roads for reconstruction were being selected. Mr. Shuman explained that the Committee would be consulted after the Town Council approved the roads. Mr. Campagna also wondered about bike lanes on the reconstructed Waverley Road and was told there are no plans for bike lanes. This was disappointing news to Maria Saiz who said it is important to have bicycle lanes on North-South roads (e.g. Waverley) that connected to large East—West roads. These are often the travel routes for bicyclists. A further concern raised by Ms. Saiz and others is the need to seriously consider the state of sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists, particularly when evaluating the right side of the roads where bikers travel and particularly on larger roads and collectors. Laura Weiner, Senior Transportation Planner at DCDP, explained that the Bicycle/Pedestrian Study is almost complete and includes recommendations on what sidewalks should be a priority by determining where people travel now and could travel if the sidewalks were safe—such as to the library, restaurants, and recreation areas. More attention will be needed to maintaining and repairing these sidewalks. The final comment was from resident Hannah Rakoff who pleaded for more curbing in town, a plea mentioned by others earlier particularly in terms of the washout of plant strips. The meeting concluded with the following action item: Councilor Donato made a motion, seconded by Councilor Palomba, to recommend that the full Town Council approve proceeding with the 2021 Road Program as presented. The motion passed 3 —0. 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E - 0 a. u 0 4 x V a o a-i O L .0 V O u C Z3 CL o ° o , ago ° V } C v 0 V bz — 4— 'v, `+_ -I-, ° s-- Q) o ; 4� V ° > Ln u '— L v � Q �O C .�.., C � � X 0 c Q Q o0 > (1) 0 OOWOM%k V) 4 J Q CL x O Q) U p o O • - O 4-j 4 J a- j a-+ V +-j V) �--' +J E V) QL O U E U Q *-Mwpoo re (3i +J �- > Q O (1) }' a� C� 40 0 c� �' Q of -0 O V) O > rH N 0- s 0 p Nr) • • r r • r r r� 1 0-0 =} e o ti w CD f U) r, z CU v +• J8e1JQj • b •�h�1��D � o U) _`k+ �h J/ �+11 z o % J � H bx � ^1 4 H • ro bX Z • s 0 z 0 m + m� s Z 1630 r TOWN OF WATERTOWN r DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS (P) 617-972-6420 124 ORCHARD STREET (F) 617-972-6402 WATERTOWN MA 02472 Gerald S. Mee Jr. Superintendent TO: Honorable Council Members of Committee on Public Works FROM: Matthew I. Shuman, P.E., Town Engineer DATE: September 25, 2020 RE: Pavement and Sidewalk Maintenance Work (Revised) Please see the list of pavement and sidewalk maintenance work performed during 2020, listed below: Pavement Maintenance Sidewalk Reaair (Mill and Overlay) Cross St (Pleasant to Main) Spring Street (Main St to Palfrey St.) Hunt St/ Maple St Emerson Road (Main St to Highland Ave) Pond St Belmont St (Circuit Lane to Sycamore St) Walnut St (Cypress to School) Bemis Street (Waverley Ave to Westminster Arsenal St (Greenough to Elm) Ave) Coolidge Ave (Arlington to bridge) Westminster Ave (Bemis St to Bancroft St) Russell Ave (Mt Auburn to Columbia) Parker St (Mt Auburn St to end) Broadway Cross St (Main St to Pleasant St) Langdon Ave (Mt. Auburn to Maplewood) Warren St (Lexington St to #212 Warren St) Hillside Rd (Maplewood to Hillcrest Circle) Desmond Ave (Warren St to Grandview Ave) Grove St (Tufts Parking entrance to Bridge) Calvin Rd Elton Ave (Mt. Auburn St. to Nichols Ave.) Main St (Square to Cross St) Marcia Rd School St at Mt Auburn St (North Side) Pleasant St (Behind 60 Main St) Nichols Ave at Arlington St